This pic is our current home, with Hubby to the left, and I'm standing in our 2008 Three Sisters garden.I've wanted for years to be self-sufficient. Yes, I'm disabled, but there's a lot I **can** do, and there's a lot that Tween and Hubby can do. We had our first garden at our first house in 2008 and did surprisingly well. Made mistakes, but doesn't everyone?
We loved this house. Planned to settle here. Then a couple of things happened.
- Hubby's office transferred to a new location - almost an hour away! It IS closer to Hubby's Mom (MIL) who is getting a little older and needs to be checked in on more often. (Gosh I hope she doesn't read this!).
- We discovered we aren't allowed to keep bees here. Or chickens. We can have 2 ducks and a pig (huh?) but really nothing else. NOT a great place for a homestead.
Our next place will be our final. Our homestead. A small-scale farm (more like a really big garden) with chickens, and probably goats, dexter cattle, ducks, rabbits, alpacas, maybe a pig or some fish... who knows! We'll plant our fruit and nut trees first, get the chickens going, and every year plant plenty of food and non-food (cotton, flax, etc.) crops. We'll make as much as we can, being self-reliant homesteaders instead of "consumers".
We write several blogs (see list above) about cooking with stored foods, backyard grocery gardening, preparing for emergencies, schooling at home, and a favorite fun blog! We had most of them combined, but it became time to split. So... as of today March 28 2009, this blog is active!We'll discuss:
- beekeeping
- candle-making
- spinning
- soap-making
- animal husbandry
- brewing
- wine-making
- essential oils making
- crocheting, sewing, and other "crafts"
- much much more
= = =
Definitions:
- I/Me/Vikki: I'll write 99.99% of our blogs. I do the research, talk with other homesteaders, make the plans, and put them into action (with the help of VHTS and Hubby). I can (preserve) and dehydrate. I don't do any of the heavy work because I'm disabled, but I do as much as I can. I'm a very picky eater so eating fresh veggies and fruit is perfect for my tastes. Can't wait until we have our chickens!! I used to crochet and sew unusual quilts (until my carpal tunnel stopped me). Being self-reliant is a dream for me, and I won't give up on it. I don't expect others to, either.
- Hubby: We've been married since April 2007. My husband has a full-time outside job so doesn't contribute much in the way of writing for this blog. He is learning how to be a father and husband. His family had a garden when he was young but didn't get much hands-on experience. He too wants to be self-reliant, and is learning things he's good at, like renewable energy. He's working on accumulating defense items, which includes blow guns and sling shots.
- VHTS: Very Hungry Tween Son - he turned 12 in 2008 and has a hollow leg. He has a problem with wheat/gluten so we have a strict diet. He loves fresh fruits, and some raw veggies. He has some problems, so is schooled at home. He loves organizing, writing stories, and discussing movies and TV shows (even tho he doesn't watch much TV). He doesn't get an allowance, but does chores like emptying the dishwasher, watering plants, caring for our critters, vacuuming, etc. He also likes to write things for the school-at-home blog where we also post some of his schoolwork.
- MIL: Mother in Law - Hubby's Mom who lives about an hour from us, where we are now.
- Chihuahua/Spirit/Dog: In October 2008 we got a chihuahua from the humane society. At 4 years old (at that time) she weighs about 10 pounds, is very stubborn and has many bad habits. Her name was Spirit when we got her, and decided to keep it.
- Dal-Rotti-Mute/Sparky/Puppy: On February 16 2009, we got Sparky, who was 10 weeks old at the time. He's a combination of Dalmation-Rottweiler-Alaskan Malamute. He's smart, learns quickly, and even (sometimes) puts his toys away when he's done with them. At 14 1/2 weeks, he weighed 30 pounds! He's going to be huge. We got him specifically to raise as our guard dog. He's already learning from the Chihuahua to bark and growl at people who get too close to our property.
